From Feb 9th

On Mon, Feb 9, 2015 at 11:39 AM, William Percival <william.percival@myldsmail.net> wrote:

No I am staying here which is kind of tough for me because even though I like this area I will stay here for lots of time. And Elder Olievera my companion is ending his mission this next transfer so they will have to take both of us out of the area for me not to stay two more transfers here.... Which would mean I would stay in this area from September to May, which is too long. So we will see what happens. Joe Wandro likes college but he was complaining about his living conditions and about the food. I wish he could see where I was and what I eat. But yes there are fewer mosquitos due to the drought. Carnival is pretty calm where we are so we will just have to see. 

Anyway for now you need to help me about what I am going to do in the Fall. To make a long story short, on Tuesday we learned that 5 missionaries who thought they were going home on Feb 23rd 9because they asked to go home early for different reasons) We told that they would have to stay the full time until March 23rd, their real date to go home. They learned this 3 weeks before they were going home so you can imagine how their families feel. Anyways, if you remember, I asked President to go home early and he said yes..., well I cannot now because a 70 of the area said missionaries can not leave more than 30 days early unless they are entering the military or if they will lose scholarship. So I cannot leave before the 31st of August.......

So I am back to worrying a little bit about what I am going to do. Because I cannot make it back to college on time. I thought of an option that I can spend two weeks at home and then move out to Provo and work until I can take some classes. Where I would live is another question. If I can take some classes before Jan 4th than I could still live with Elder Robinson, and just work before classes. But if you could call BYU and let me know if there are some classes I can take before Jan 4th because I can not make it back in time for Fall classes which start the 31st of August. It is frustrating. Let me know, I will let you know what I find on BYUs website.  Would I be able to take the Suburban with me to College or do you guys need it?

W

A Bit More from Feb 22

Mom,

I sent you the message I sent Dad today because I am running out of time. Carnival was not too different here. It is much calmer than it is in the South of Brazil. Everyone throws flour and eggs at each other which is a little different. They also have a game of soccer where men dress up as girls and play the game. So that was different. My Valentine card came this week, Thank you. The money is always great and card is very beautiful. My companion goes home March 23rd, the end of the transfer. Yes Sister Egbert (the missionary from Colorado) arrived with me. I will definately take some photos at the beach before I go home but I am nowhere near the beach so I will just have to wait until one of my last weeks. It has rained everyday this week. This is kind of annoying because there is lots of mud and the insects just go nuts. 

I have to run, sorry. I will say that I remember that you always like nature and I remember taking pictures of birds in Arizona for scouts. The birds and wildlife here are way cooler than places in the United States, or maybe just because it is way different. Canada is pretty cool too. The birds and all the wildlife here are fun to watch. I wish I could walk around and take pictures with my camera one day but it is not a good idea. Especially in this neighborhood. Are you guys all going to Antigua for spring break? You are supposed to save fun trips for when I get back. 

Have a good week.   

W

Wedding and Baptism Photos

February 22, 2015

It is strange Cleveland is not doing well with Lebron. My keyboard sucks today so I might have to be brief.  For the first time in a long time it rained this week. It has rained everyday since last Monday I think. It is nice not to have the sun but we lose the wind when it rains which makes the air all muggy with the humidity  But the rain does bring cool air which is a nice change. There is nothing I need, but the 30 Reis ($) or so that mom sends in the letters is always a nice boost. The Portuguese always is improving. My companion is from Sao Paulo and I have been making egg sandwiches with chicken this week. Variety is very low here in Fortaleza. And yes I also read the scriptures.  The MTC in Sao Paulo was just really boring and it would have been better to just go straight to the mission. You learn so much more by doing something than by talking about doing something. It is funny Kate talked with that girl from my mission who returned to Colorado. I saw her only a couple times here but she was very nice. She waited for her visa for 1 year and served less than 6 months here.  

It was a fun week but we had lots to do. We had to go downtown to do this wedding Friday morning very early. The baptism was Saturday night. Me and my companion bought the cake for them. It was an awesome experience. The ward does not have very many men so they were excited to get a man who is educated in the ward. Something that I have learned about missionary work with people who get baptized is that they really are prepared by the Lord and it is more the spirit than the missionaries who convert them. We just have to remind people that they need to care. The problem with people in Brazil is people just do not care about much. But this week we found some more cool families that we will start to teach. There are some things that bug me about my companion but he is an amazing teacher and I have learned a lot from him about how to work here. He goes home at the end of this transfer. 

Got an email from Perryn Huth this week who is in Ukraine. We're emailing early today because we have to go downtown to go practice in the mission choir. Hope I get a seat on the bus. I will try to take some pictures of Nova Aldeota. 

Lots of Love

W